Times Ranger saved Steph
by erdi99
Summary: a compilations of chapters where Ranger comes to Steph's rescue. BABE
1. Chapter 1

**Ranger's POV**

"Urgg" I can't help but groan and curse the person that is calling right now. I only got home half an hour ago and I am dead on my feet. 78 hours without sleep, tracking some asshole all the way to Detroit, where we were finally able to put the cuffs on him. Blindly I reach for my phone on the nightstand, swipe across the screen to answer the phone and put it to my ear. "Someone better be dead."

There is a small silence, before the female on the other end answers in almost a whisper "Not dead per-se."

My eyes fly open, instantly alert by her tone, I swing my legs over the edge of the bed on relax and within seconds I am across the room at the chair where I dropped my clothes when I got in. "Talk to me!"

"I shouldn't have called you…" Her voice is full of regret.

"No! You should have. If you are in trouble, I rather you wake me than me finding out over my morning coffee."

"Don't you mean grass juice?" She teases.

"Babe" Is the only answer I give her, knowing it will be enough to bring her back to the subject at hand while I get dressed.

"Ok...okay I...well you see, I was tracking Ramirez...again..and he sort of…"

"He sort of what?" I ask, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in attention and a stone plummets to the bottom of my stomach. This cannot be good!

"Well he sort of died."

I freeze, while pulling yesterday's pants up my legs. Don't judge me, I have had worse during my time in the army. "Come again?"

"He died...he jumped the fence, or at least he tried to and sort of rolled over... I even started laughing when I saw his fat ass stumble, but then he landed awkwardly and well...now he is dead." I have no response to that. Only Steph manages to render me speechless. Some would say that isn't hard to do, since I don't talk much on my best days, I am a man of actions not words, but she just manage to make me lost for words. "Ranger?"

I shake my head and pull my pants up all the way. "Text me the address. We will be there shortly." With that I hang up on her and dial Tank.

"Someone better be dead" My best friend and second in command growls.

"That is what I said" I muse. "And someone is actually dead. Pick you up in a few." Tank doesn't actually live on site. He owns a house two blocks over. Some might say it isn't far, but for him it makes all the difference to separate work from his down time.

"Kay, I will wake the others" He responds, just when the text from Steph makes my phone vibrate. I hang up on Tank without uttering another word and finish getting dressed. On my way down to the garage, I read Babe's text and barely suppress a sigh. Newark.

Thankfully Lester, Bobby and Hector are already waiting in the SUV, when I join them, and within seconds we are peeling out of the garage towards Tank's place. When I divulge the address, everyone is cursing Vinnie three ways to Sunday. That guy has a way of bailing everyone out, consequences be damned. That is why we spend three days searching for our Skip in fucking Detroit.

Thankfully it is in the middle of the night, so we make good time and 35 minutes later, we pull into the lot of the Old Hydro Pruf Factory which is located off the New Jersey Turnpike. The building was abandoned long time ago and during the day you can actually see trees growing out of the top. Steph's car is sitting in front of the building and I pull up the signal of the tracker I had Hec put into her phone, which she doesn't know about... yet. "On the other side of the building"

Few minutes later, we find her hunched down next to the lifeless body of her skip. Even though we have our flashlights on and make quite a bit of noise, thanks to the rumble on the ground, Steph doesn't notice us. The others stay back, while I approach Steph like a frightened animal. "Babe?" I say softly and she doesn't acknowledge me until I am only two feet away from her.

"I know I sounded amused on the phone, which was terrible of me... I mean the man is dead and I couldn't do anything about it. He died because I was chasing him, I even taunted him a bit and laughed when he got over that fence." Babe pointes behind her with her thumb without taking her gaze of the dead man. "He had a kid...or is it 'has a kid'? Who knows, there is now a child without a father."

"This is not your fault" I assure her and step closer. "Are you okay? I mean physically?" I spot a bit of blood on her almost bare legs. She is wearing an oversized black jumper with jean shorts and CAT boots. Her hair is pulled into a messy bun and is hidden under a black baseball cap, with the Rangemen Logo on it. She must have taken it from my office and part of me is happy she is spotting my company's swag.

"I am fine. Just cut myself when I jumped over the fence... so nothing bad."

"Bobby will look at it regardless." And with that the man in question appears out of nowhere beside us.

"Let's have a look Bomber." He smiles at her and reaches for her leg at the same time.

"Let's call the cops" Mentally I prepare for another long night ahead.

"Thank you" I nod at the Detective in charge, hand him my card and get into Babe's car. After it was determined that she was indeed fine, Bobby, Hector and Tank left, leaving Les and me to deal with the cops and making Steph see that this wasn't her fault. Something that will take at least a dozen doughnuts, a hot shower and sleep.

The sun is high in the sky when we finally make it back to Haywood. "I am sorry I woke you. I shouldn't have called you, but I panicked."

"Don't even worry about it" I tell her and mean it. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her, well expect to admit my real feelings for her. That is a can of worms neither of us is willing to open.


	2. Chapter 2

**So this chapter was supposed to be a standalone story, yet I couldn't help but include it into this storyline. The idea for this chapter came from watching an episode of Psych.**

* * *

 **Ranger's POV**

"You sonofabitch!" Lester looks at me furiously before looking back down onto his phone. "How did you get tickets and I didn't?"

"I can type on my Smartphone like the Flash" I shrug, while climbing the stairs to the fifth floor.

"Fuck you very much" Lester growls behind me.

I chuckle and not let him know that I bought enough tickets for the entire Core Team, Hector, Zip and all the spouses. "Relax Cuz, it is almost the same as watching it on your big ass flat screen TV!" I retort. "This way you won't get doused in beer and won't get a stomach ache from the shitty stadium food."

"You are such a dick!" Les grumbles behind me and starts opening the bag of doughnuts, I brought to give to Steph. She has been feeling down since Lula moved to the west coast with her Actor Boyfriend, so the doughnuts will cheer her up.

"Don't even think about it" I growl and snatch the bag out of his hands, before he can get one of his paws into it. With my other hand I push the door to the fifth floor open and my eyes instantly seek out Steph's cubicle, which is currently Steph-less. Not the least bit surprised, I walk passed my employees to my office with Les hot on my heels.

My phone rings and I pick up without looking, while making my way around my desk. "Ranger"

"Did your car die again?" that would be the only reason why Babe currently sounds exhausted and out of breath "You should have called me, I would have picked you up." I turn on my computer and lean back in my chair, while Les gets comfortable in the guest chair in front of my desk all the while still ogling the damn doughnuts.

"I...you...have...to come...crosstrainer" I can hear her taking a deep breath, before she utters the words that shake me to the core "Bomb."

I stand up so quickly that the chair smashes into the window sill and causing the stupid vase Ella insists on keeping there, to fall to the ground. "I will be there in five. Don't hang up on me!"

I mute the phone and start walking briskly across the fifth floor, while shouting at my men. "LES call Bobby, MANNY grab your gear, Steph as a Bomb in her apartment!" Then I start running, knowing that not only the three I just called out, but most of my men will show up at Steph's to see if they can help.

Once in the garage, I throw myself into the Cayenne and peel out of the underground parking lot. A few hundred broken traffic laws and five minutes later, I run up the stairs and within seconds I throw open the door to Steph's apartment.

"Ranger!" Babe exclaims and for a second stops paddling, before doubling the speed again. "Don't come closer!"

"I have to Babe….I need to know what we are dealing with" I step closer towards her, noting that Babe looks like she is ready to drop of the machine from exhaustion.

"You brought me doughnuts?" Her eyes light up at seeing the bag in my hand, which I didn't realize I grabbed in my haste to get to her. I simply just nod, not taking my eyes of her for a second. "Give me one...I need... to keep going."

"Why is that?" I ask, open the container and hold out a Boston Crème for her, which she accepts with a grateful smile.

"I ….got this from Lula…" She huffs, trying to catch a breath and eating the doughnut at the same time "It's brand new and free" She adds on her next deep breath, shrugs and takes another bite from the doughnut followed by a moan. She is dripping of sweat, her hair and shirt are sticking to her like a second skin and she barely manages to hold onto the machine with one hand. "Got it from... her old apartment with Big Blue" She wheezes "So I figured I… I give it a try this morning."

"You are exercising out of your own free will?" I cannot help myself and raise an eyebrow in question, all the while surveying the machine.

"Fine..you are rubbing off on me" Babe huffs out and wipes her face with the back of her doughnut hand. When she sees me watching, she adds "It'snotlikeIcantake... myotherhandofthisaswell...so don't look at me so grossed out…" The words just stumble out in one big word, thanks to the piece of doughnut in her mouth and the lack of oxygen. "Well anyways... I got on it... started paddling, when I reached the big peak... message popped up...said if I didn't keep this up...dropped under 9 km an hour...then BOOM...then the beeping started."

"Ok...don't worry, we will figure this out" I assure her and step closer to the machine.

"No...don't come closer...please. I don't know how…. how much longer I can keep this up." She pleads with me, but I ignore her.

"I need to take a closer look at this Babe" I inform her, place the doughnut bag onto the floor and go down onto my knees with my flashlight. I can't see anything, since this thing is encased completely, which means I have to wait for Manny to get here.

I barely finished that thought and the man in question steps through the door with a small bag containing his tools. Manny has saved our lives countless time, thanks to his ability to turn nothing into an explosive or disarm a bomb of almost any kind. He was on the top of his Ranger class and I didn't hesitate for one second to bring him onto my team then and Rangemen now.

"It's encased" I inform him and get back up.

"I will take a look. Everyone else is outside" He nods at me, before shooting a comforting smile at Steph. "Hey Bomber, how are you doing?"

"Just dandy... Manny, how about you? Are we….are we going to have an explosive morning?" She quips back with as much enthusiasm as one could muster in this situation.

"If the Boss ever pairs us up, I am sure we could level the whole city in one go" He grins and then gets down on his knees next to the machine.

"Yeah that is never going to happen" I fake shudder. I know we are joking around, but this is not a joking matter. My insides are coiled to the max and I am ready to kill the son of a bitch who thought this one up. They will never find the body.

"Another...Doughnut" Steph shoots me a pleading look and I hand her one without a comment. I need to keep her spirits and energy up, while I try to come up with a way to switch her out with me. I quickly text Tank and Les to get up here. I will need their help.

In the meantime, Manny checks with his little mirror under the machine and once he deems it safe, he carefully starts unscrewing the case. When he is done, he takes out his mirror again and with his flashlight surveys the machine. "There is nothing in here" he says after a while, looking rather displeased.

"Oh no! You can stop pedalling, Bomber. There is no bomb in that machine." Tank, who just walked into the room, advises Steph.

"How would you know that?" I ask and turn towards my best friend.

"This Lula's machine right?" Tank asks and Steph just nods. "There is no bomb in there. The machine tells you there is bomb, so you won't stop half way through your workout. It will tell you so, once you finished the program."

"ARE. YOU. FUCKING. JOKING?" Steph screeches, stops paddling and nearly collapses, if it wasn't for Manny holding her upright. "I will kill her...I will kill Lula….and whoever….whoever…" Her knees buckle, her eyes roll to the back of her head and she loses consciousness.

"BOBBY" I shout and he materializes out of nowhere in the doorway, while I take Babe out of Manny's arms and carry her over to the sofa.

"Someone get some water." Bobby orders "Ranger alleviate her feet." I do as I am told, while keeping an eye on Steph's eyes. "She has exerted herself. Steph will need a tonne of water in small doses and we gotta get some protein into her. She will be sore as hell tomorrow."

In an instant I am in her kitchen only to find her fridge empty. Typical. Either she hasn't gone shopping or she is too broke to buy proper food. "Nothing" I shake my head, when I return to Steph's side. "Let's get her to Haywood. Ella can whip something up for her."

"Let's wait until she comes around" Bobby advises. "Then we can move her."

* * *

"Here you go" I smile at Steph and set the tray on her lap.

"What is in these?" She looks suspiciously at the food which I ask Ella to specially prepare. I can't blame her, often enough I have tried to sneak my very healthy rabbit food, as she calls it, passed her taste buds.

"Well…" I start, trying to remember what Ella told me "all of that is rich in protein and healthy. Peanut Butter and Jelly Overnight Oats" I point at a small glass jar "Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes" I point at the biggest plate on the tray "And a Berry Blast Protein Shake."

"Where is your breakfast? That is not enough for two people." She asks and looks from the tray to me and back.

"In the kitchen, I was going to take it to the office." I admit.

"Where did you sleep last night?" She narrows her eyes at me with suspicion, obviously having seen that my pillow is missing.

"The couch" I reply. Had I climbed into that bed last night, I would have done something stupid like kiss her again, which was just going to lead to more kissing and her wanting more than I can give her. Besides Steph is back with the cop and this time, I have to draw a line. It would complicate her life and mine. After so many years she is still with Morelli, which shows that she must really love him or she would have stood on my doorstep a long time ago.

"Why?" She asks and it is something I don't really want to get into, so instead of telling her the truth, I get up from the bed with a smirk on my lips and reply "You were hogging the bed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ranger's POV**

 _One month later_

I look at my current situation at hand and try really, really hard not to laugh.

"If you laugh, I swear to god I will get Ella to put laxatives into your weedy drinks" Steph threatens with a stern expression.

I turn my face to a blank expression, while looking up to her, something I never have to do, since she is a head smaller than me. "You wouldn't!"

"Go ahead laugh and you will find out" There are days I wish, I hadn't introduced Ella to Steph. They are thick as thieves now and I know Ella would poison us all, if Steph asked nicely.

"How…" my lips twitch. Keep it together Ranger! "Care to explain how you got into this bind?"

"Well I was chasing after Donnie Wahlberg…"

"The actor?" I look at her with a quizzingly expression. I don't keep up with celebrity gossip, but if Marky Mark's brother had skipped bail, I would have heard about that.

"No...well my skip looks like the actor, so Lula and I kept calling him that. Apparently he doesn't like it..." She grumbles.

"So what happened?" I ask, still trying really hard to keep that neutral expression on my face. All those years of training can't be for nothing.

"Freddie, that is his actual name, doesn't like to be compared to Donnie nor does he want to go back to jail. I ask him nicely, twice, and then Lula had to go and pull her gun. Instead of scaring him, he grabbed me, slammed the door in Lula's face, brought me out here and hung me...well here." She swipes her hand up and down, pointing at the flagpole she is currently hanging off.

"Where is Lula?" When I got here, Steph's best friend wasn't any here to be seen and neither was her firebird.

"Took off" Steph huff. "So are you going to help me down?"

"Just...just one second" I pull out my phone and take a couple of pictures. Those are going to be my new screensavers.

"If they end up on the Rangemen notice board, I will put chilli in your boxers!"

"There you go with the threats again, which you are in no position to issue" She shoots me her famous jersey glare and I can't help it any longer and start laughing.

Defeated she hangs her head and arms and shakes her head. "This shit only happens to me." She is right on that one. This stuff only happens to her and I am glad it won't be long before she can laugh about it herself. Her keeping a good face about her adventures just goes to show what a strong woman she is.

"Ranger, please" Steph pleads and I do as ask. "Thank you" she beams at me gratefully, once I get her back down onto solid ground.

"Couldn't leave you hanging" My lips twitch again.

"Just go ahead and laugh...the guy is a mountain and looks like the hulk. He could hang you up there with little effort." She retorts.

"Aww Babe, that would never happen, but I'd like to see him try" I smile and pull her into a hug. "I am glad you are okay." I whisper into her hair, while breathing in her shampoo, coconut mixed with something else, like some creep.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue." Babe hugs me even tighter. "I am starving. Let's get Pizza...well I get Pizza and you can get your rabbit food. My treat."

"I got a better idea...since you love heights and all." I wink at her.

* * *

"I cannot believe we are having dinner 100 feet in the air while hanging of a crane." Steph looks around in wonder. "And how did you manage this on so short notice?"

"Connections" I wink and take her hand. That statement isn't that farfetched.

"It is all about who you know" Les grins and leans over to give his wife a kiss. Les went to school with the owner, Paul, who wanted to do a test run, before it opens up on Friday night. As it is Les and Mary's anniversary today, Paul agreed to give them a special treatment and let them go up by themselves. I sort of hijacked that plan and only feel a little bit guilty about it, since I get to look at Steph's happy face all night.

"This is amazing" Mary smiles brightly. "And the company isn't so bad either."

"Yea if someone hadn't hijacked my plans..." Les grumbles. What can I say he owed me.

"I don't mind. We never get to spend time with other couples" Mary shrugs and I let go of Steph's hand in an instance.

I didn't think this through. This is not a date. We are not a couple, but to an outsider it sure looks like it. "Hon, they are not a couple" Les informs his woman and an uncomfortable silence breaks out. Steph refuses to look at me, her cheeks red of embarrassment. Yeah, me and my stupidity. This will cause problems with the cop, which means Steph won't come around as much to Rangemen anymore.

Ah the vicious circle we live in and can't get out off.


	4. Chapter 4

_Two days later_

"Can you come and bring the metal detector?" Babe asks as soon as I pick up the phone.

"Sure, but what do you need a metal detector for?" I ask in return while gathering my gun and keys from my desk.

"I will explain when you get here. I will send you my coordinates via message." She replies mysteriously. "Oh and Ranger?"

"Yes Babe, still here!"

"Come alone" she says and hangs up, leaving me looking befuddled at the device in my hand. Never ever, in the time I have known her, has she hung up without saying goodbye. She thinks it is rude and I can't not wait to take the piss out of her for that.

Seconds later the phone vibrates with her coordinates. Farm land on the outskirts of Flemington. What is Babe doing out there?

* * *

Due to the late morning traffic it takes me over two hours to get there and once I make my way around the barn, as instructed by Steph, I find an overweight white guy with a shaved head, dressed in a blue Overall sans shoes sitting with his back against a post of the pig pen, his hands cuffed around it. His overall is mostly covered in mud and he looks rather miserable. With the sun beating down on him and his head already looking rather red, I make a note to go back and get him a hat as soon as I find out what is going on with Babe.

I look from him into the pig pen, where Steph is on all fours, covered from head to toe in mud, muttering to herself. "What in god's name are you doing?" I ask and her head jerks up. It takes all of my willpower not to laugh right there and then, but loose that control when she gets up to face me fully. "Oh my…" I say and start laughing so hard that I am getting stitches and my stomachs feels as if I have done five hundred ab crunches. I haven't laughed this much since...well since I was a child.

All the while Babe is standing there with her hands on her hips shaking her head. Once I have sort of calmed, she says "You got that out of your system?" Which sets me off all over again. I take my phone out of my pocket and take a picture. "RANGER!" I take another one for good measure. Too good of an opportunity to pass up. "If that goes into the break room, I will kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try" I wink at her, still chuckling.

"I lost Grandma Plum's ring." She sighs and looks down at the mud around her. "I ran after this dick head" she nods towards the man on the ground "and I lost it while wrestling him in the mud to cuff him. Now I can't find it. That is why I asked you to bring that thing" she motions towards the metal detector in my hand. "I just hope Erni and Bert haven't eaten it." I assume those are the names of the pigs regarding her with curious looks.

"Lucky I brought two then" I smile at her and lean the device onto the pen. "I will go and get the other."

"Don't, it's fine. You can go...maybe I shouldn't have called...you are very busy...But I don't know anyone apart from the cops who have one, so I called you." Which begs the question why she didn't call Morelli.

"Don't worry about it. I am glad you called. I don't get much of a chance these days to play with mud and I heard it cleanses your skin" I wink at her and retreat back to the car to get the other metal detector and a hat for farm boy.

I was surprised when I saw her name flashing on my screen earlier. We drove home in silence after the dinner two days ago and have not talked since. Lester laid into me yesterday for a) making his dinner awkward and b) for being a pussy and not manning up and admitting my feelings. He is right and I know it, but it is just not that easy as 'Hey Babe, I love you'. No, it is a huge can of worms which contains the cop, my issues of not wanting to be in a relationship and her inability to admit her feelings for me and vice versa.

I grab the metal detector and a Rangemen hat out of the trunk and make my way back. "Are you sure you have time for this?" Steph looks at me and bites down on her bottom lip. How does she not know that even if I didn't have time, I would make some just for her?

"I am sure" I smile at her. It rained last night, but it did nothing to the bring down the heat. Since I am dressed in all black, I strip of my shirt and roll up my cargo pants to keep me from melting completely. Besides it doesn't hurt that Steph is looking at me as if I am good enough to eat.

* * *

"I don't think we will ever find it" Babe sighs, slides down on a post and comes to sit in the mud a couple of hours later. "Erni, did you eat it?" We went over the whole pen and nothing. "Bert, you maybe?" The pigs look at us as if we are crazy and go back to munching down on some apples that have fallen into the pen from the nearby tree.

"I know I should have taken it off, but I was in a rush this morning and forgot. Damn it" Babe bangs her head against the post a couple of times, before leaning against it and closing her eyes. Even covered in mud from head to toe, she is still the most beautiful woman I know. I lean the metal detector on the outside of the pen and come to sit down next to her. I know how much the ring means to her, so I get that she is upset.

I look around the pen, onto the upturned mud and let my gaze settle on the skip still cuffed to the post. Something catches the sun and I realize that it is Babe's ring on his pinkie finger. "Son of a bitch" I get up, stalk over to him and rip the ring of his finger. I hear a crack and the skip cries out, which means I broke his finger. Good.

"He had it? All this time?" Steph questions with big eyes as she takes the ring from me. "You asshole!" She starts climbing over the fence, but I hold her back.

"I broke his finger, any more than that will look suspicious." I hold onto her tight while she is ranting and throwing obscurities at the skips head, who is just laughing like a maniac. Maybe he will hit his head or fall down some stairs by accident when I deliver him to the cops later.

Once she calms down, I let go of her and wrinkle my nose when she faces me. "You smell." She looks at me as if she cannot believe I just said that and before I can react, she throws mud in my face or pig shit or a mixture of both, but at this stage I don't really care. I wipe the stuff of me and put on my best predatory face. "No...No, no... NO" Her eyes are wide and a smile is tugging at her lips, as if she can't decide if she will like what will come next or not. "Don't even…" Before she can finish that sentence, I grab a handful of mud and throw it at her, hitting her square in the chest.

She stands stock still for a second, before running to the opposite side of the pen, where she starts making mud/ poo balls. Not just preparing for a fight, but an all out war. Her face is full of mischief and excitement and who am I to deny her this bit of fun. I start my own prep, watching her out of my peripheral vision trying to anticipate her first strike. She is giggling to herself and I have to admit I haven't seen her this happy in a long while.

Soon enough there are mud/ poo projectiles flying through the air and not always hitting the intended target.

We build walls to crouch behind, trying to one up another by sneaking around. Only mine are way more stable than hers (Thank you US Army!) and I get the upper hand eventually. "Ok...Okay!" She laughs, lying in the dirt with outstretched hands trying to prevent me from dropping the last 'bomb'. "I surrender."

"Mhh...not sure I heard you" I throw the mud ball up in the air over and over again, pretending to think about if it is better to kill my enemy or accept their surrender.

"I surrender...waiving the white flag...giving up…" She says muffled, due to her hands now covering her face of fear I would let the ball drop. "I do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" Instantly a lot of inappropriate images flood my brain.

"Yes, yes" Babe moves her fingers slightly to be able to look at me.

"Okay, I accept your surrender and will think about my payment." I drop the mud and help her up. "You still smell though."

"So do you" She grins and hits me square in the head with mud, laughing her ass off. "I am...I am sorry...I...I couldn't help myself." Shaking my head I pull her closer, bend and throw her over my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Without answering I get us out of the pen and over to the barn, where a hose is attached to the side of it. I turn it on, while still holding Steph over my shoulder, and work the hose under her shirt. "AHHHH you son of a bitch." She squeals. "That is cold!" I was counting on that.

* * *

"Stay there, I will grab us some towels" I hand her the hose to turn off and walk around the barn. The sun is slowly disappearing, but the heat is still sticking around. When I look at my watch, I shake my head, we have been playing around with mud and water for the better part of the day, yet despite the mountain of paperwork sitting on my desk at Rangemen, I can't bring myself to care. I loved every second of our afternoon.

Grabbing multiple towels, two shirts and shorts out of the back, which I keep in there for emergencies, I head back to Babe. Our skip has long fallen asleep and is spotting a bit of a sunburn. Again, I can't find myself to care.

"What time is it?" Babe asks and accepts the towel with a grateful smile.

"Why you got a hot date?" I ask, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

"As a matter of fact I do...with the entire Fire Department of Trenton." She replies, bent over, wrapping the towel around her hair and head. "There is a fundraiser tonight and I will be auctioned off for a date. I have to be there and ready at 8 PM."

"Then we better get going" I tell her, quickly strip out of my wet clothes. I don't care. We have already seen each other naked and it is not like we are in the middle of the city where everyone could see.

"Uhh...okay" Babe's face is beet red and she is trying, and failing, not to look below my waist. I stalk over to her, turn her so that in case the skip wakes up, he isn't getting any material for his nights in prison, and start pulling at her top. "Ranger? What are you doing?" She whispers, only looking at my naked chest.

"Getting you out of these wet clothes. We gotta hurry, it is already 5 PM and it will take us a couple of hours to get back."

"Shit I still have to bring him to the cops." Steph hangs her head, halting my attempt to get the top of her.

"I will get the guys to meet us at your place to pick him up." I assure her. "Now come on, get these off you." This time she lets me take it off and now it is me who has a hard time looking away. The sports bra she is wearing makes her breast look even more delicious and my dick begs me to take a lick. "This one needs to come off too, it's soaked." Without a word she lifts her arms for me to take it of her. Her eyes are dilated now and if she keeps licking her lips, I will not just be tempted to kiss her but will follow through with it too.

As soon as she is free of her Bra, I grab my shirt and pull it quickly over her head, definitely not noticing how her nipples have hardened or how her breath hitches when I brush my fingers along her sides.

Pulling up as much self control as I can muster I strip her bottom half as well and pull the shorts up her legs as soon as possible. Just when I stand the skip behind me lets out a wolf whistle. "Damn that is a nice thing between your legs" and Babe breaks out in a fit of giggles. Well better my junk in his dreams than Steph's goods.

* * *

"Why is Morelli not joining you?" I ask just as we cross the border into Trenton.

"Why would he? We have been split up for the past year." I have no response to that. How did I not know that? "He got some undercover gig, then went on to work for the State Police and it was best for both of us. Did you not know?"

"No" I try to keep my voice even, but having a hard time keeping my emotions in check. A year! She has been single for a year.

"Strange, I thought I had mentioned it." She shrugs her shoulders.

I pull into her driveway, but before she can hop out, I grab her arm. "Get your things. You can get ready at Rangemen." She instantly starts shaking her head, so I add "May I remind you I have a shower with multiple shower jets and Ella who would be happy to help you with hair and makeup."

"Sold" She grins.


	5. Chapter 5

_45 Minutes later_

"Why are you wearing a Tux?" Babe asks, making me glance up from my desk. I got dressed and showered in Bobby's Suite before coming back up to look over some papers while waiting for Steph to get ready.

"Wow, Babe, you look beautiful!" I stand and motioning for her to get closer. She is wearing an off the shoulder, floor length red dress, which hugs her figure at all the right places and whose skirt flares out from her waist down. Her hair is pulled into a simple knot on the back of her head, with a couple of curls framing her face. "Hold on one second" I tell her, go over to my safe in the wall and after entering the code and retrieve two of the three jewellery boxes I have in there. "I bought this a while back with you in mind, but there was never a right time to give it to you."

I open the rectangular box, which holds a simple silver bracelet. Two thin silver chains holding onto a simple silver heart in the middle. The other smaller box holds sterling silver flower cluster earrings with a small diamond. Both will go perfectly with her dress, which should be the eye drawer, not the jewellery. There is also a ring in my safe, but I won't get that one out until Babe and I have gotten on the same page. "Ranger...I can't accept this."

"You can. Here try it on" I take the bracelet out of the box and gently put it on her left wrist. "The earrings you will have to do yourself" I add with a wink.

"When did you buy this?" She questions, but doesn't move her eyes from her wrist.

"A while back" After Hawaii. It is a set, which goes perfectly with the ring.

"Why are you wearing a Tux?" She queries again, finally looking up at me.

"Because I am going to join you." I smile at her and grab the box with the earrings. "You can put these on in the car. We have to go."

"You can't just join me. The tickets were sold out months ago, I know because my Val and Albert tried to get some few weeks back to go with my parents." Steph stops me in my tracks.

"I always have a table. Rangemen has a good relationship with the fire and police department and always attends their charity auctions. There hasn't been one in recent years that I missed if I was in the country." I reply and push her out of the room. With the heels she is wearing, she is only a few inches shorter than me.

* * *

"Going once, going twice, going three times to the gentleman with number 62" The auctioneer calls out and I shoot Steph a grin.

"Fifty Thousand dollars for a date with me?" Her eyes are wide and she shakes her head. "You are insane! All of you are insane! You just outbid one another."

"I am sorry you will have to have go on a date with that dick over there, but thirty-five grand is my threshold." Tank replies.

"Yeah we can't all be money hoarders like Ranger" Bobby adds.

"Someone has to keep the economy going" Les quips.

"Please, you hoard money like no other." Mary adds with an eye roll. "Contemplates for ten minutes in front of the cereal aisle if the store brand one will be as nutritious as the Kellogg's one and if it will be the same value for money. And that is only the start of it. A twenty minute run to the store turns into an hour and a half if my husband's joins me."

"Les is a cheap ass" I nod in agreement, put my arm around the back of Babe's chair and lean in close "This better be one hell of a date, Babe." I smile when she shivers slightly and lean back again. The men at the table raise an eyebrow in question and I would laugh out loud, if it wouldn't be attracting Steph's attention, who is now in a conversation with Mary.

* * *

"Did you know?" I narrow my eyes at my friends, while Steph and Mary are looking for Steph's parents.

"Know what?" Tank questions confused.

"Babe is single, has been for a year."

"What? No way!" Les exclaims and by the look at Bobby and Tank, they didn't know anything either. Hector however has his blank face in place and is sipping far too casually at his rum.

"Hec?" I ask in a warning tone.

"Wasn't my information to share" He shrugs with a smirk. "Besides you could have just manned up, cop or no cop." And with that he stands, making his way to Zip, his boyfriend, who is on security detail for this event.

"That man and his secrets" Bobby laughs.

"If I was looking for a good bloody fight, I'd take him to the mats, but Bobby has seen enough wounds this week, so I will give him a pass this time" I smirk.

* * *

A while later I find Steph alone on the balcony, looking over Trenton, with a glass of champagne dangling from her hand. "Such a beautiful night."

"Shame you cannot see the stars like in the desert." Babe replies without looking over her shoulder.

"Why did you keep it such a secret?" I ask when I Steph next to her, knowing she would know what I meant.

"I just wanted to be single, concentrate on myself and figure out what I want for my future." Steph shrugs.

"And did you find out what you want?" I ask and my insides freeze, waiting for her answer.

"Privately yes, job wise not so much."

"You want to quit your job?" I ask surprised. She loves chasing criminals, at least that is what I thought. Besides she is really good at finding them.

"Maybe?" She phrases it as a question, making it clear she has yet to come to a decision. "I am good at solving mysteries, not so good at other things involved in being a BEA and I am getting sick of living pay check to pay check. I want to see the world, travel, buy a house" Babe shrugs again.

"You can always…"

"No" she instantly shakes her head. "I know where you are going with that sentence, thank you for the offer, but no. I am sure of that. I love Rangemen and I am grateful for what you have done for me in the past, but I can't see myself making a career out of it."

"That seems fair." I nod and decide to give it a rest. She know she can come to me if she needs help deciding on a new career. "So what do you want from your private life?"

"You" one word, three letters. Simple and direct. And I don't know how to answer apart from grabbing her face with both of my hands and kissing her. I tilt her head slightly and open my lips, let my tongue dart out to lick along her lips. She is wearing a Strawberry flavoured lip gloss, making me do it again. A sigh escapes her, giving me a perfect opportunity to slide my tongue in between.

With my right hand I keep her lips on mine while the other slides down to her ass, pulling her closer. I don't know how long we stay like this, but eventually we have to pull apart for air. "You have no idea how long I waited to hear that from you!"

"As much as I like hearing this, what kind of deal is on the table exactly? Because I know I don't want to be your casual girl, I can't be. I lo...like you way too much for that." My heart skips a beat at her mistake.

A smile spreads across my lips and I raise an eyebrow "You want to negotiate?"

"I just want to know the terms and conditions" She shrugs. "Can't blame me, because you have given me plenty of mixed statements over the years."

"I don't" I nod and give her another quick kiss. She is mine and I am not letting her go. "Well, so here are the terms...1) We will date for a while, exclusively. Dinners, long walks on the beach the whole shebang. 2) We move in together a couple of months from now. We can stay at Haywood or buy a house. I don't care, as long as Rex is in my living room, your underwear in my drawer and the cookie jar with the gun in the kitchen." At that Babe giggles. "3) We get engaged and then married in a small intimate affair. 4) Kids. I already have one and Rex is yours, but maybe we can make some more if you want. 5) We grow old together."

"Wow, those are some terms. I may need to speak to my lawyer before signing on the dotted line." She winks. "But I think we can come to some sort of agreement here."

"Perfect" I pull her close again and kiss the hell out of her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **This is the end. What did you think? Too Cheesy? Leave the comments below.**


End file.
